In 2017, Ctrip has maximized its customer-facing positions, established a solid foundation to service non-Chinese customers around the world with Skyscanner and Trip.com, and has continued its environmental efforts.

On May 8, Ctrip released its 2017 Annual Letter to Shareholders by Jane Sun, Chief Executive Officer, and James Liang, Co-founder and Executive Chairman.

Last year, Ctrip delivered a GMV of RMB 560 billion, representing 30% year-on-year growth, and net revenue increased 39% year-on-year to reach RMB 26.8 billion. At the same time, non-GAAP operating margins improved from 10% in 2016 to 18%.

In China, Ctrip accounts for around 10% of the total RMB 5.4 trillion travel market. Globally, according to the Report on World Tourism Economy Trends 2018 released by the World Tourism Cities Federation, total global tourism revenue in 2017 was USD 5.3 trillion, accounting for 6.7% of the global GDP.

Core Values: Customer Centricity

Ctrip’s core values and principles are part of the name - C for Customer, T for Teamwork, R for Responsibility, I for Integrity, and P for Partners.

Ctrip’s customer service center runs 24 hours a day and answers around 95% of our customer inquiries within 20 seconds.

In 2017, Ctrip also launched the “Global SOS” Service, which provides not only translation assistance, medical guidance and recovery of lost goods, but also timely support in emergencies, such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Ctrip’s response in the Las Vegas shooting, Bali volcano eruption and the most recent Taiwan Hualien earthquake reflects the efficiency and effectiveness of such services.

“Ctrip Senator Club”, which consists of our most active customers, puts valuable customer suggestions into action. The routine survey on Net Promoter Score also provides Ctrip with important customer experience insights. Additionally, a group of employees at Ctrip formed the “Blue User Guardians”, who work actively to be a voice for the customers.

Globalization

As one of the most successful flight meta-search sites in the world - and particularly in Europe - Skyscanner has accumulated nearly 70 million monthly active users. Ctrip also begun to realize synergies with Skyscanner through the development of a direct booking engine, which increased its own conversion rate on Skyscanner by nearly 50%. In addition, Ctrip has worked with Skyscanner to launch additional transportation products like car rentals and train ticketing on their platform.

In 2017 Ctrip also launched a new brand, Trip.com, for our Asia Pacific user base. Like Ctrip, the brand signifies one-stop travel shop capabilities and is step by step building up these competencies. Although Trip.com is still relatively small scale, with the help of Skyscanner it has achieved triple-digit growth in air ticketing volume for five consecutive quarters.

Promoting Sustainable Travel

As the first travel company in China to participate in a carbon-offset program, Ctrip continued its environmental efforts in 2017, with over 900 thousand trees planted in our “Ctrip Forest” by the year-end. In addition, Ctrip, Qunar and eight other companies established an alliance aimed at promoting responsible travel behavior.

Ctrip also partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to support the worldwide movement "Earth Hour." Ctrip, together with WWF, advocated for the adoption of a sustainable lifestyle by not using single-use plastic products and promoted a deeper commitment to changes beyond that one hour.